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// Chapter 2 
// Story: scootaloo's story 
// by chancellorpuddinghead 
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	Scootaloo awoke, shivering heavily. She wondered why she wasn't in her bed, and where she was. 
Suddenly the terrible, heart-wrenching events of the night prior came upon the little filly in such a wave so to be compared to a tidal wave. Sudden, terrible, creating much sorrow. She knew, even though she didn't want to admit it, that she couldn’t go back. She also knew that the impostors were changelings, terrible creatures that fed off your love and took place as that pony. She had never seen one of those mysterious creatures, she knew it was one. 
There was one odd thing though…  'Don’t changelings also change their voices?'
Scootaloo shuddered. There were so many options. 'They could have been young or new. Maybe they didn’t get enough love from just me.'
Still a small voice whispered 'Maybe I don’t love them enough…'
She realized that she DID have a little lump of resentment at her parents. They were never around and they ignored her sometimes. The poor, newly orphaned Pegasus was lonely.
"I should move on into the forest. I might find somepony else. Maybe they could help and give me a home if they can't find my mommy and daddy." Scootaloo said to herself, thinking it odd to hear a normal voice. The filly walked deeper into the deep, dark, forest.
After the horrible experiences she had in what she later found was the Everfree Forest,  Young Scootaloo found she wasn’t scared of anything. She ran into a terrifying Manticore, which roared at the orange filly. 
She had to cross a rickety bridge to get away from a horrifying, dilapidated, and seemingly haunted castle. She swore she saw ghosts emerge from the fog surrounding the area
Scootaloo ran into a river which a great, purple scaled, orange maned, overly dramatic, sea serpent . He had a mustache, and what an odd mustache it was. One side was a brilliant orange, slightly curled mustache, while the other side was very girly. It was an amazing purple, much brighter than his scales. It also was curled in an amazing, large, luxurious, and extravagant ringlet. The serpent just scoffed at her, not letting her cross. She just fumed and found a different way across, which was a good mile out of her way.  
She nearly plunged down a large cliff, and instead found a nice little blue flower patch to cut through. It was very late, and the little filly had been walking and hiking and running all day with little to drink and nothing to eat, so Scootaloo just picked some of the beautiful flowers and made a pillow to sleep on, and drifted off into a fitful sleep.
The nightmares she had plagued her dreams until an unfamiliar figure interrupted. The stranger  had a regal look to her, she stood tall and proud with her navy blue coat shimmering in the moonlight. Her hair of many blues swirled to the side, much like Princess Celestia. 
She soon spoke, " Young Scootaloo, you must find the house in a tree, talk to the striped mare, Zecora. She will assist thee." She spoke loudly, as though yelling. 
Startled, the sleeping Pegasus asked questioningly," Who are you?"
The stranger smiled and said softly, " You will know when the time comes. That will not be long now." her tall horn started to glow, faint at first." Now, you must wake." The blinding, white light filled the young Pegasus's vision.
With a gasp, she woke up. Scootaloo felt a strange sensation in her whole body. She looked at herself. Why were her legs backwards? Whatever it is, Scootaloo thought, the striped pony- whats-her-face- can help, I hope. 
Scootaloo wandered aimlessly around the forest. Twice, she barely evaded capture from the timber wolves, odd, terrible smelling creature of wood in the vague form of a wolf. They chased her, until she hit a bump on her scooter and flew off into a tree,just out of the predators' reach. 
It felt seriously odd having to do everything backwards. After quite  a bit of stumbling and tripping and falling, she finally got the hang of it. 
If she knew one thing, it is that she absolutely must find the mare the dream intruder mentioned.
Scootaloo was on the verge of giving up, when after two dreadful, overly eventful  day, she saw a pony. It seemed strange seeing someone else, for Scootaloo was getting quite accustomed to the painful loneliness.  Scootaloo gave a sob of relief. 
She cried out, "Hello?"
The mysterious mare turned, reveling an exotic striped face. She said, " Why hello little filly, to be wandering the forest at this hour is quite silly." She spoke in rhymes, with a thick accent. " and you have had the terrible pleasure of running into Poison Joke, Come and I will help heal the joke. 
Scootaloo knew at once, this was the mare- Zecora?- she was looking for. In a strangled voice the Pegasus spoke. "Zecora?" she waited for a conformation. Zecora's head nodded, and Scootaloo continued. " Hi, my name's Scootaloo, and can you help me? You see…" she spoke of all that had happened, and that she needed to find a town and how, with sudden realization, she had not eaten or drunk anything for three days. As she finished, she realized she had been sobbing.
"Come, child, for you have endured much. I shall take you to my home and we can have lunch." Was  the reply.
As if it was speaking on its own, Scootaloo's stomach growled 'yes'.
They soon headed off through the dense, jungle-like woods. A distant howl from timber wolves made Scootaloo almost jump into Zecora's lap.
As if sensing her freight, Zecora said reassuringly, " Dear child, Do not fret; the wolves aren’t hungry yet." That simple statement made Scootaloo calm down.
Before Scootaloo knew, they arrived at Zecora's house. To call it a house, was a bit of a stretch. The 'house' was a large, hollowed- out tree with branches spreading out all over the place. Strange bottles hung over the place. Large, decorative, strange, slightly-scary masks crowded the walls. The room had a slightly eerie, but comforting  aura to it.
Zecora soon broke the silence. " come on little Scootaloo, I shall have to heal you. Lets also have some tasty lunch, I think you might need to munch."
Scootaloo gave a large, ear- to- ear smile and bounded after the striped mare.